Huelga
written by: Robert Walton
Jesús walked to King City
On a dusty road
East of town.
He passed Basic Vegetable –
Its flat blue walls,
Its stinks,
Its steams –
And turned in
At a workers’ fire.
Flames leapt in sunset wind
And the workers’ fingers curled
Around dancing heat.
Their jobs were gone
And most of their hope,
But they shared pan dulce
And a joke with Jesús.
He left them a smile,
And that warmth
Kindly visitors share
Before he walked on.
Dusty stars rose
And listened to
The wind’s many questions:
Who suffers?
Who cares for another?
Who is first?
Who is last?
On a dusty road
East of town.
Robert Walton is a retired middle school teacher, rock climber and mountaineer with ascents in Yosemite and Pinnacles National Park. Walton is an experienced writer. His novel Dawn Drums won the 2014 New Mexico Book Awards Tony Hillerman Prize for best fiction. Most recently, his “Joaquin’s Gold,” a collection of Joaquin Murrieta tales, was published on Amazon.
Latest posts by Robert Walton (see all)
- Dunker Church - July 25, 2024
- The Magi Sisters - December 27, 2022
- La Loca - December 4, 2021
